Control mechanism



June 21, i932. C, VOLK 1,864,329

I CONTROL MECHANISM Filed July 2, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet l .lune 21, 1932. c. VOLK CONTROL MECHANISM Sheets-Sheet Filed July 2, 1928 Patented June 21, 1932 lprawns-.D .STATES PATENT oFF-ICE CON-RAD VOLK, OF BRIGHTON, ENGLAND Application filed July 2, 19.28, Serialy No. 289,843, and in Great Britain July 8, 1927.

This invention relatesy to control mechanm ism which enables up to fouryariables to be controlled simultaneously `with one hand, each position of the control handle giving a.

definite adjustment of every variable. The mechanism can be applied to any case where such control is desirable-and the control of colourlighting of' white lights at diiierent positions say in photographic studios, en-

l@ gine controls, aircraft control and the control of wireless apparatus may be given as examples.

In its broadest aspect the invention comprises a universally jointed lever which actuates. two or three radial' control members which pass away from it' through points fixed" in'relation to the joint upon which the lever is mounted; The ixed points and joint are relatively arranged' so that the control 29 members are fully actuated by lateral movements as Well as-straight line movements of' the lever in relation. to the ixed points. The invention also, includes the case where the lever is replaced: by a member universally 25 slidable in a plane, that is the equivalent of: a lever ofY indefinite length. A further con= trolj may be independently actuated bya' movement in relation tothe axis of the lever that is by rotation orA longitudinal move- 30 ment. Preferably the range omovement ofv the lever is limited by a gate sett out as described below.`

ln order that the invention. may be ful-ly understood and" practiced it will be' further 35 described with referenceto thel accompany# ing drawings, in Which- Figure lk isfan elevation,

Figuref2` a detail-view, and

Figure'is a planyview, ot one embodiment' Figure his adiag ammatic planof another. embodiment,I Y

Figure is an elevationofa detail construcf tional modification,

arrangement. in which. theY radial members comprise-racks actuating pinionsatthe. fixedY points,` Figure- 7 is4 a. detail view taken-1 at right. E9 angles to Figure 6,l

Figure is a detailview of' anv alternative,

v Figure 8 is a detail view of a further' alter- 33 and 34, one control member 31 will be paid out as the other 32' is drawn in and thus two controls to which the members 31 and 32 are attachedcan be actuated' so that the-sumof their settings is constant. For example one door may beopened and another closed,or one light dimmed and' another brightened. By moving the lever out of the above mentioned plane both controls can be drawn upon and the sum of the control settings will no longer be constant but any combination upto full actuation of'both,controlsfobtainedl To assist in obtaining any relative proportion and'total sum of adjustmentthe movement of the lever may be circumscribed by a closed gate 35 of substantially vlozenge yshape which will` be bounded by two arcs described about the fixed points 33 and 34 as centre respectivelyone with radius giving the zero position of the control and the other with radius giving the full position of the control. To enable closedY figure to be: obtained theradial control mem bers must in generalv be long enough to allbw both. t'o be at yzero together. The limitingcase will be. when. they,v occupy this position withthe lever inthe plane containing the joint, the lever., andthe fixed points when one corner 36 of' the gate willA be in the said' plane ,asi shown. If" the eii'ectof moving the lever in contact withthe gate be considered it'r willV be seen. that at onevpoint 36both controls are'at' zero., On movingE away towards 3'? control 32 remains at.zero,and'control' 31 gradually increases'tilllOOfis reached at 37.l l-ong the next side controll remains at 100% Vand'controlg32jincreasesto100% atjthe nextcornerBS diagonally.- opposite the 0.0' corner 36. lromy 38 control 32 remains atY 100%, and control lidecreases to 0 at the next corner. From" 39. control lremains at 0 and`c32` decreases to 0 at 36. It will be seen that by intermediate movements of the lever 30 out of contact with the gate any proportion less than 100%, 100% can be obtained and that the mechanism will therefore provide every possible combination between 0, 0 and 100, 100. Moreover, there will only be one lever position for any particular combination setting. By providing a twist or telescopic control on the lever a third variable may be controlled independently of the other two and thus any combination between 0 and 100% of all three controls obtained. Tt will of course be understood that in particular cases what has been described as the 0 position may in fact be a partly actuated position for one or more oi the controls, and that the controls may operate inthe reverse direction when the 0, 0 and 100, 100 positions will be at 38 and 3G respectively.

Considering now the case of'three radial members, as shown in Figures 1 aiidB. The device as illustrated comprisesalever 1 provided with a handle 15 and carried on a universal joint 2. To the lever are secured the three radial members here consisting of. ilexible cords 13 which pass away between rollers l0 which form the fixed points.r The fixed points are marked R Gr and B which may represent the variables to be controlled by the device. Itis clear that if the lever 1 be moved between two of the Fixed points 14 through an arc 3 about the third, the hrst two controls 13 will be paid in and out respectively in such a manner that the sum of their .adjustments is practically constant while the third control is unaffected. Similarly for any other two, while diierent combinations of all three can be obtained by setting the lever inside the iigure bounded by the three Varcs 3. As before the lever may be circumscribed by a gate which will be deined by the said three arcs 3. To obtain an equal control over each radial member the fixed points 14 will be at the vertices of an equilateral triangle, while the lever joint 2 will be on a perpendicular to the midr point of the plane of the triangle. n

The control possibilities of this arrangement can be considerably varied while still maintaining` the features of aI definite combination for every position oi the lever. It,v

will be understood that more than three control members cannot be used without limiting the range of combinations. If eachl control varies from 400% over .the Whole movement of the lever away from the fixed point, by going round the gate every position will give one control at `100% and the other two at positions in which their sums are 100%. Thus in moving the lever l say from R to B 100% of Gr will be constantly obtained while the sum of R and B will be 100% starting from R=0, B=100 to R=100, B=0. With the lever at the mid point, each ,control will be at 1t is therefore clear that oi' each cannot be obtained although any relative proportions can be obtained.

The controls can also be arranged to work the opposite way, that is each control varying from 100%-0 over the whole movement tore 100% of each cannot be obtained although any relative proportion can be obtained. 4

To enable 100% of all three variables to be obtained the controls may be arranged so that when the lever is at the centre all three variables are at 100% each remaining at 100% while the lever moves towards the lixedpoint for the respective variable and diminishing to 0 when the lever moves away from the centre to the side of the vgate opposite the fixed point. This arrangement gives any combination of two variables plus 100% of the third. The. reverse arrangement, 0 at the fixed point and 100 from the centre to theV remote side will provide two controls at 100 plus any proportion of the third up to 100. In a Jfurther arrangement the three variables may be at 0 at the centre, remaining so during movement to the respective iXed point, while increasing to 100% from the centre to the gate side remote from the fixed point. This arrangement gives any, combination of two variables alone from 0 to 100%. The reverse arrangement of 100 at the fixed point and 0 from the centre to the remote side will give any proportion of each control by itself only.

It will be understood that dilerent arrangements of control for each variable may be provided and that the ranges need not be 'from 0-100%.

As before a twist or telescopic control may be provided which may controla fourth variable independently, or it may control all three variables simultaneously either arithmetically, that is to say adding or subtracting equally to or from each variable irrespective of the position of the lever, or geometrically that is to say effecting the same ratio of change in each variable irrespective of the position of the lever. Such an additional control will also enable the mechanism to control three variables so as to give any combination of each from 0-100%.

Y The cords 13 makel slight vertical movements, during the movements of the lever 1, which are taken care of by the pairs of cylindrical rollers 40 onk spindles l1 parallel to the mid position of the lever." From the rollllO ers the cords 13 may pass over a pulley 42 on a spindle 43 and may actuate the variables 'to be controlled directly or through multiplying or, as shown, reducing gears, or by remote control. Conveniently the spindles 41 are bolted direct to the gate 3 while the spindle 43 is carried in brackets 44 secured to the gate.

A simpler arrangement of fixed point for use with cords 13 is shown in Figure 5. Here the cords simply pass through eyes 14 secured to the framework of the apparatus but it will be understood that this construction is not so good as that shown in Figures 1-3.

Alternatively to flexible cords the radial members may comprise rigid members such as racks actuating pinions as shown in Figures 6 and 7, or linkages as shown in Figure 8.

In Figure 6 each radial member comprises a rack 56 universally jointed to the lever 1 at 57, and engaging a pinion 58 located at the fixed point. To allow for the slight tilt involved by the movement of the lever, each pinion is mounted on a shaft 59 which actuates the desired variable controlled by the apparatus, by means of a universal joint 60 within the body of the pinion. The racks are maintained in mesh with the pinions by means of guide members 61 mounted on spindles 62 rigid wit-h the pinions.

In Figure 8 the lever 1 actuates three linkages 63. Each linkage comprises four bars 64, 65, 66, 67 jointed together to form a rectangle. One joint 68 is pivoted to the lever 1 and the diagonally opposite joint 69 is pivoted to a fixed point. The other two joints form the anchorages of the inner and outer members 70, 71, of a Bowden mechanism by which the desired variables are controlled. The radial members may be provided with stops which provide a virtual gate but preferably the lever is circumscribed by an actual gate as illustrated since its visibility aids in making the adjustments. The radial members may also actuate or carry indicators showing the setting of their particular variables.

lVhere an axial additional control is used the lever may be telescopic, the telescoping action operating a further flexible or rigid member. As seen in Figure 9 the handle 72 of the lever 1 is slidably mounted and actuates a rigid rod or exible member 73 which effects the additional control. If desirable or necessary a spring such as 74 may be used which normally retains the handle in one position, here the outermost. The handle is prevented from coming right olf the lever by a pin 74 projecting` into Va slot 7 6 in the handle. Preferably, however, as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, a twist grip is provided. The handle is rotatable on an axis i at right angles to the lever, the rotation being transmitted through bevel gears 16 to a shaft 17 carried within the lever 1 and having a universal joint 19 with the same center as the lever joint 2. As shown the shaft 17 carries a pinion actuating a rack or chain 21, but adrum and cord may be used instead. Preferably the full ran-ge of control of the twist gripis provided by a small rotation of the handle 15: for convenience in manipulation.

It will be understood that though the mechanism will give adjustmentsH with infinite gradation it may be used in cases where the control has to-be made in small steps. Where such steps have to be made in jerks as is often necessary in the making and breaking of electric contacts, the radial members may actuate a steph-y stepy mechanismv adapted for this purpose. Thus, as shown for example in Figures 1 and 3 they may each be passed around a drum 48 and carry a weight (not shown) to keep the cord taut. The drum 48 is fast on a shaft. such as 48' Icarrying a wheel 49 coupled to the shaft by'anarrangement j permitting lost motion. for instance the key 56 and wider keyway 51., The wheel is toothed anda roller 52 on a blade 523 pressed by a spring 54 works on the teeth so that when the roller just passesv over the head of av tooth the wheel `jumps on till the roller is midway between the' teeth. Alternatively Y a ratchet may be used.. The' wheel 49 will operate the actual contact mechanism say throughY a pinion: 55..

' As azn example of an actual' control Figures 1V and. 3 showl the device fittedA with electric resista-hoes which may bev used for example for controlling electric light sources. Such light sources may for' example be those located at different points' in a photographic studio when a rapid and definite control of lighting can be obtained. OrA they may be sources giving coloured light of the three ico primary colours: so thatfany desired coloured Y light may be projected.

The resistanceslOf, comprisetwelve or other suitable number of stages from maximum current to off. TheV resistance is advantageously of the form in which a contact member 11 is slidably mounted on guides 12v to travel over thevarious resistance stages.A The co-acting contacts ofthe latter may' be arrangedl in relation to the slider-guides, so

that theV slider has a degree of idle travel before the first stage of. dimming is reached.

Each slide 11 carries a rack 55 meshing with a pinion 55 itself meshing with the corresponding wheel 49, and thearrangement may be such that movement of the lever towards the corner will cause the slider to move (against gravity, spring or the like) to the j from the corner, as governed by thegate 3, ment of said radial control members tov said `and the slider has been shifted to a degree hand actuated member, y giving the on position. By this arrangeln ltest'mony whereof I have signed my ment, an extremely wide variation of proname to this specification. Y

Gf.y portions of the three currents is obtained. l CONRAD VOLK. F

It is to be understood that movements may be imparted to the lever of the present invention and. its handle by automatic and mechanical means, according to a pre-arranged :39 cycle, or set-sequence. Such a modiiication 1 75 is contemplated` for, inter alia advertising A and display apparatus.

Whatl claim is y p l. A control mechanism comprising a l frame structure, a lever universally jointed i' 80 trol members can be fully actuated by lateral to said structure, two radial control members each secured to said lever and passing away through respective points fixed on said structure in such positions that said radial conmovements as well as straight line movements on said lever in relation to said fixed points, a twist grip member mounted on said lever, a rotary additional control member. carried L'. axially of said lever, and lmeans coupling said I I Y Y v 90 twist grip to said additional control member.

2. A control mechanism comprising a frame structure, a lever universally jointed to said structure, .two radial control cords L each Vsecured to said lever' and passing away Y 95 and passing away through respective points throughrespective points lined on said structure, and step by step mechanism actuated by each of said radial control members.

3. A control mechanism comprising a Y Y. y frame structure, a hand actuated movable member, means on said structure for restraining said movable member so that a point thereon is maintained within a defined surface, two independent radial control mem- Y bers actuated by said movable member, and 05 a third independent control member carried by said movable member and actuated by movements with respect to an axis perpendicular to the instantaneous plane of movement of the points of attachment of said two radial control members to said movable member.

4. A control mechanism comprising a frame'structure, a hand actuated movable member, means on said structure for restraining said movable member so thatY a point thereon is maintained with a defined surface, three independent radial control members each secured to said hand actuated member i'iXed on said structure in such positions that 120 each said radial control member can be Jfully actuated by lateral movements as. well as straight line movementsor" the hand actuated y V 60 member in relation to the corresponding iXed v 125 point, and an additional Vcontrol member carried'on said hand actuated member and actuated'by movements with respectl to an axis perpendicular to the instantaneous 65 plane of movement of the points ofV attach l, v Y v K 130 

